Santa Anita officials tout safest year as winter/spring meet ends

Planetario and Brazilian six-year-old jockey Hector I. Berrios win the $100,000 Grade III San Juan Capistrano Stakes on Sunday, June 16, 2024 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA, setting a new course record of 2:46.95 for the 1 3/4 miles on turf, breaking his own record (2:48.08) that he set as a 5-year-old in last year’s race at the San Juan Capistrano. (Photo courtesy of Benoit Photo)

ARCADIA — Santa Anita Park officials said Monday, June 17, that the new winter-spring season, along with last year’s fall competition, have combined to give the track a safety record for racing. horsepower by 99.97%, ranking it as the safest track of similar size. and activity in North America.

The six-month winter-spring competition ended on Sunday. During this period and the six-week fall competition that began September 29, 2023, racehorses made a total of 6,678 starts on Santa Anita’s main track and turf course, with two racing deaths, according to track and California Horse Racing Board records. .

The horses that died were Matanzas Creek (fatally injured during a race on March 16) and Blonde Bombshell (May 31).

According to CHRB statistics, 12 other horses died on the track during this period due to training injuries, both musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal. According to Santa Anita, the park conducts training operations throughout the year, with more than 375,000 training sessions per year.

“It is impossible to overstate the diligence with which the entire racing community put the safety of the horse above all else,” Nate Newby, senior vice president and general manager of Santa Anita Park, said in a statement. “From owners, trainers, jockeys, veterinarians and the hard-working men and women who care for the horses every day, everyone has done their part to make safety our North Star.

“Winter is always a challenge with the weather, and we have a tremendous track team at Santa Anita Park, led by veteran Dennis Moore, whose tireless efforts and countless long days have been vitally important,” Newby said. “We are grateful to the CHRB for its steadfast leadership in prioritizing the welfare of the horse, and especially to our horseplayers, who continue to support Santa Anita Park, allowing all of us to continue these efforts cutting edge in the industry.”

Santa Anita officials have touted safety improvements that have lowered the annual death toll since 2019, when at least 42 horses died on the track, sparking widespread debate about safety concerns at Santa Anita and about horse racing in general.

Despite changes aimed at increasing safety, animal rights advocates have continued to push for an end to horse racing, citing continued deaths at racetracks across the country.

“No legitimate sport would tolerate the deaths of 13 of its athletes during 23 weeks of competition at a single venue, which is the same number of deaths over the same period in 2023,” said Martha Sullivan of the group Kill Racing Not Horses. a statement Monday.

Santa Anita had 12 racing and training deaths in 2022 and 17 in 2023, according to CHRB data.